


The Harvard Medical Hoodie Corollary

by rushedwords



Series: Camp Enterprise [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boston, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-13 16:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3388658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rushedwords/pseuds/rushedwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to Once a Pre-Med Student Went to Camp in which Bones is starting his first year at Harvard Medical. Jim is trying to figure out what it means to be in a relationship with Bones while the Head of the Charles looms in the distance. Set in Fall 2009 with too much texting, the woes of Facebook, and wonderful New England references.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Harvard Medical Hoodie Corollary

When it came to human sexuality, Leonard McCoy couldn't really be bothered to care too much about it. He was who was. And if heterosexuals never had to 'come out' - whatever the fuck that meant - he sure as hell saw no need to do so. Len just brought home whomever his current girlfriend or boyfriend was at the time and let his parents assume what they wanted. If anyone dared asked him about his sexual orientation his reply was usually, "Well, I'm not attracted to you, so does it really matter?"   
  
The same wasn't true for Jim Kirk. Except for the Camp Enterprise staff, the world as it were saw the legendary Jim Kirk as a very heterosexual young man, and why wouldn't they? He never did anything publicly to deny that belief. Besides, what happened at camp stayed at camp, and if that extended to include an apartment in Oxford, Mississippi that was fine by him.   
  
Then Bones announced he was going to Harvard Medical just across the river. 

* * *

> **Bones:**  Stuck in labs all day tomorrow. Still have that back up lined up?   
>  _12:03 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Yeah. No problem. Kevin was disappointed I found someone else anyway.   
>  _12:13 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  We still on for next weekend?   
>  _12:14 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Apple picking. It will be epic.   
>  _12:14 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Bones:**  I’ll let you know by Wednesday.   
>  _12:24 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Well, I’m coming by either way.   
>  _12:25 Aug. 26_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Sext you later!   
>  _12:25 Aug. 26_

* * *

Len never made it to apple picking. He knew medical school was going to be tough, he just didn’t expect to care when he had to cancel plans. His sleeping schedule was thrown all to hell and weekends were coveted as a chance to play catch up. It was already wearing down some of his peers, but for him the demanding pace the professors set was energizing. It was the first time in his life he actually felt challenged.  
  
Harvard Medical was the dream regardless of whether Jim was just over the river in Cambridge. Now that he had it, he wasn’t going to let it slip from his fingers even if that meant letting other things go. Luckily Jim was persistent enough for the both of them.  
  
“You know, when they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I don’t think that should apply to medical students or you ever,” said Jim walking into the apartment to find Len on the sofa going over his lecture notes. “Because I actually like apples and I would hate to have to give them up.”   
  
It was only then that Len looked up from his books to see Jim standing with a covered plate of something delicious smelling, and a bag of what he could only assume was fresh-picked apples.   
  
“This is a lesson in the benefits of locking my door, isn’t it?”   
  
Jim didn’t seem fazed, not that he ever would. In Len’s experience, the kid could be at home just about anywhere he wanted. “Shut up. I brought you food.” Jim set down the plate on the table to reveal two apple dumplings and some apple crisp. “I bet you haven’t eaten since you got back from the pool this morning.”   
  
The glare that Len gave Jim meant he was right. Not that it was that hard to figure out based on the number of mugs on the table. Jim plopped down on the sofa crowding Len’s personal space, which was nothing new. Len was just surprised to realize that he missed this.   
  
“I still can’t believe Gopher let you leave camp early,” said Jim taking one of the apples. “Bones, you missed the banquet!” He took a large bite, not really caring that the man in question might be trying to study. “The banquet, Bones!”   
  
Len just shook his head and put down his notes. He was due for a break and those dumplings did look tasty. “Well, good thing I have you here to tell me all about it, huh?” The dumplings were enticing, but Jim Kirk after nearly three weeks apart looked better.   
  
“Your roommate home?” He set the apple down on the table leaving it to brown because as good as it was some things were better.   
  
“Geoffrey’s with his lab group until four.”   
  
Jim smiled big and wasted no time climbing into Len’s lap, straddling the outside of his legs. “Great because, talking? Totally overrated.” Before Jim had the chance, Bones leaned forward and pulled Jim into a kiss, stealing the last remains of summer that Jim carried with him.   
  
The summer was over. Fall was slowly settling into New England, and inside Len’s apartment something new was taking shape. 

* * *

> **Keenser:**  Practice moved earlier. Be at the boathouse by 5:30 a.m.   
>  _8:03 p.m. Sept 19_
> 
> **Keenser:**  That means you too, Kirk.   
>  _8:04 p.m. Sept 19_

* * *

In only a year on campus, Jim Kirk had made a name for himself. Although anyone who was keeping track knew that he was legend before orientation was over. Some might argue it was those brilliant too blue eyes and that smile. Others claimed it was the reprogramming of the Harvard Stadium scoreboard to spit off harmless insults about Harvard every time the opponent scored. Jim Kirk was the cliché - all the women wanted to sleep with, and all the men wanted to be.   
  
He often ruined the curve for many of his classes, and was a force on the river. Crew wasn’t something he expected to enjoy, but his floormate Kevin wouldn’t shut up about it so he decided to give it a try. Jim never expected to be sitting stroke in the first boat by fall of his sophomore year. That meant plenty of early mornings out at the boathouse before the sun was even up in addition to a full load of classes, and the research lab where he worked. Some days it sucked, but he had a system that made it bearable.   
  
Only Bones had never been factored into that system. It wasn’t like he could account for a frantic call from Bones at 11 p.m. on a Sunday. If it was anyone else it would have been easy to find a reason not to go, but this was Bones. What was the worse that could go happen? Bones regularly woke up earlier than Jim would have liked.   
  
Except that day Bones decided to sleep in a little. So, Jim woke to the triple beep of his cell telling him he had a message. Not ready to be awake and far too comfortable he blindly reached over to grab the phone and try to make out the blurry message on the screen. 

> **Keenser:**  15 minutes, Kirk. Thought you should know.   
>  _5:14 a.m. Sept 20_

“Shit,” he said, sitting up too quickly in the bed. “Why did you choose today of all days to skip the pool?”   
  
Bones scrubbed his face, trying to get his brain going enough to answer. “I thought you didn’t have to be at practice until six.”   
  
Jim threw himself out of the bed, digging through the clothes thrown about the room for something appropriate to wear. At this point he didn’t really care if he tugged on the Harvard Medical sweats and one of Bones’ camp shirts, he just needed to get clothes on and go. As Jim scrambled around the bedroom, Bones got up and went to the kitchen.   
  
Unknown to Jim, Bones was gathering Jim’s things and shoving them into his backpack. Jim’s detour to the bathroom gave him enough time to pour Jim a traveler’s mug of coffee and smear some peanut butter on a bagel to go.  
  
“Here, eat this.” He shoved the bagel at Jim as he jogged out of the bathroom, picking up his bag. “And don’t choke on it because I sure as hell ain’t going to help you.”   
  
Working on autopilot Jim smiled at Bones and took a bite of the bagel before darting for the door. “Thanks, Bones! See you later,” he shouted as he slammed the door behind him.   
  
He was going to be late. There was no way around that. At least when he arrived he would be properly warmed up and appear a great deal more awake then he actually felt. He rolled up to the MIT boathouse ten minutes late and was applauded by his teammates as he jumped off his bike to secure it to the rack.   
  
“Well, if it isn’t the Great Jim Kirk who decided to bless us with his presence.”   
  
“Fuck you, Kevin.” Jim said, ripping the other half of the bagel from his mouth, more amused than annoyed because that was how things worked with Kevin.   
  
“I don’t know,” said Matthews, “it looks like you were fucking enough last night.”   
  
“Yeah, Jim, whose the Harvard student you’re fucking?” Kevin pointed to the hoodie Jim was wearing, only now realizing he had in fact grabbed Bones’s hoodie. He mentally cursed himself for not grabbing his, but at least hoodies were gender neutral.   
  
“Isn’t that like sacrilegious?” said Matthews far too concerned in Jim’s sex life, but then again a lot of people on campus were concerned with who Jim was or was not having sex with.   
  
“Not if she’s hot,” said Kevin, stepping in at the voice of authority over this situation that Jim didn’t really the desire to deal with right now. “She’s totally hot isn’t she? I bet she threw you morning sex.”   
  
Jim shook his head, double-checking the lock on his bike, before starting down the path to the boathouse. “Just shut up and let’s get out there before Keenser actually proves good on his threats to kill me.”   
  
They didn’t bring up the hottie across the river for the rest of the morning, but Jim wasn’t naïve enough to think that had been the end of it. 

* * *

> **Bones:**  Hope you weren’t too late for practice.   
>  _12:43 p.m. Sept 20_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  I’ll live.   
>  _12:48 p.m. Sept 20_
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Although now you totally owe me morning sex.   
>  _12:48 p.m. Sept 20_

* * *

For as competitive as the medical world was, there was a special camaraderie within his society. A group often got together on Wednesday afternoons to study. From the start Len and Elizabeth were always the first ones to show up, which meant they became more than just study buddies.   
  
Today when she sat down across from him she had that look in her eye – one that he saw all too often coming from Jim Kirk. It meant trouble. Knowing it was best to face it head on, Len arched a brow and waited.   
  
"So, Len, I know this girl who I think you should meet." She set down her books across from him, everything about her down to her ponytail was impeccable. Elizabeth always meant well.  
  
"Oh?"   
  
Her smile grew, not expecting to get to say her piece without interruption. "Yeah, she plays on my ultimate team, from Jacksonville, loves the outdoors, and best of all she’s a former competitive swimmer looking for a lap buddy."   
  
"That better not be a damn euphemism." There it was the bitter future doctor coming out just as it should have a minute ago.   
  
"But you haven't even met her.” She looked at him a long moment and he deliberately avoided making eye contact, but she was a smart girl. “Len, are you dating someone and failed to tell me? I have to meet her as soon as possible."   
  
"Him," he said correcting her without even much of a second thought. Although he did look at her to gauge her reaction to that little reveal.   
  
"Okay, sorry, when are we going to meet him?"   
  
Len didn’t realize he was concerned about how she would react until he felt noticeably relieved that she seemed okay with this new facet of his life. That earned her a rare honest smile. "I'll see about dragging him along to the next potluck." 

* * *

> **Bones:**  Some friends are getting together for dinner and the Sox game on Saturday. You interested?   
>  _6:43 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Are you actually going to be watching the game or studying?   
>  _6:52 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Bones:**  Probably a bit of both.   
>  _6:58 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Much as I’d love to watch you study, I may have to pass.   
>  _6:49 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  But we should totally still go to the Arboretum in the morning. See what happens from there.  
>  _7:04 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Bones:**  Sure, come by when you’re up. I’ll probably use the morning to sleep in some.   
>  _7:05 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  So as long as I come by after 8 you’ll be up?   
>  _7:06 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Bones:**  I hate you.   
>  _7:06 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  No, you really don’t. (:  
>  _7:07 p.m. Sept 23_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  See you on Saturday.   
>  _7:07 p.m. Sept 23_

* * *

Jim’s sleeping schedule made Bones’s look normal, because at least his was constant. Between upcoming midterms, the Head of Charles, and Bones, Jim was thankful that he operated well on short naps. For as much as he joked, he was lucky to sleep until six on Saturday.   
  
Still too early to bother Bones, Jim threw on shorts and a t-shirt with the hope that a run would quiet his mind. Only a handful of other people were out running along the Charles, but Jim didn’t pay them any attention. It was soothing to run along the familiar banks that he knew better from a boat rather than on land. However, there was only so long he could run for and at 7:30 he turned down the Riverway to finally start his day.  
  
Jim raced up the two flights of stairs to Bones’s apartment. He was glad he finally had a key and could just slip into the apartment even if inside was always colder than it was outside. Bones bitched about how expensive heat was and seemed determined not to turn it on. For whatever reason his roommate went along with it.   
  
“Jim, what brings you here this morning?” Jim jumped at the unfamiliar voice. Despite how much time Jim spent at the apartment Geoffrey never seemed to be around. And he wasn’t sure if Geoffrey knew that he and Bones were more than good friends. He probably should have said something, rather than stand there staring at the other man awkwardly for a full minute.   
  
“Bones and I are going to the Arboretum later,” he said when he remembered how speak. Like the gender-neutral hoodie, this was a relationship neutral answer.   
  
Geoffrey nodded before pulling on his jacket. “It should be a good day for it.” He walked from the kitchen, grabbing his bag en route to the door. “Len’s still sleeping, but I don’t think he’d mind if you went and woke him up.” Then he had the gall to smirk at Jim before heading out the door.   
  
Sure, the smirk in itself was harmless, he just wasn’t sure what to make of it right now. Most of the time it meant ‘I know you’re about to get some,’ but what if this time it only said that on the surface and actually meant ‘I think you’re an abomination’?   
  
Jim pulled a face. These were far too serious thoughts to be having this early. The only course of action then was to toe off his shoes and do what he first intended. He crept across the apartment and pushed open the bedroom door. He should have felt like a creep watching Bones sleep, but he felt something else, something he didn’t often name. Nice as it was to watch, he would much rather be in that bed.   
  
It amazed him how Bones moved to accommodate him as his weight settled on the bed. Jim wasn’t particularly tired, but it was early, the apartment was chilly, and the bed was warm. The only thing that made sleep more tempting was a half-asleep Bones folding Jim into him, settling as if he’d been here the whole night.   
  
“Why are you cold?” Bones said, his hands becoming a bit more alert feeling the damp ends of Jim’s shirt and shorts. “And wet?” He sighed, moving to sit up and attempt to glare. “Get out of my bed and change.” Although Jim was sure that was his best effort to sound menacing, it didn’t really work that well.   
  
Jim smiled and pulled Bones back down, all thoughts of the awkward conversation with Geoffrey slipping away. “But you’re warm.”   
  
“And you’re impossible,” said Bones giving in.   
  
“Nah, just improbable because I definitely exist.” Bones groaned, but didn’t say anything else.   
  
The two stayed in bed for almost an hour longer before the need for food beat the desire to stay curled up in a warm bed, but only just barely. There was also the fact they had plans for the day and Bones was secretly looking forward to his first real experience of the supposedly breath-taking New England foliage.   
  
Once they finally managed to leave the apartment the morning went well. It was just Jim and Bones similar to the ventures they would make to the day camp side of the lake over the summer. Only rather than a strange ghost town, there were all sorts of people milling about enjoying the autumn weather. Bones was in a rare playful mood, bumping shoulders and hips with Jim any chance that he could. It was surprising, but not unwelcome, when Bones stopped them by the Rose Lanterns and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.   
  
What caught him entirely off guard was the disgusted look from the two ladies in pink and purple velour on their morning power walk. “Just let it go, Jim.” Bones tried to redirect his attention, but Jim’s mind was already reeling again. He didn’t feel safe. He felt like the whole world was going to judge him, hate him, for this one part of who he was and it was all he could think about for the rest of the morning.   
  
After the walk Jim said he forgot that had to swing by his lab and double check the specs for Scotty. They both knew it was an excuse, but Bones decided to let him go today. 

* * *

 

“I heard he’s dating some smoking hot med student at Harvard.” 

“With the way he flirts? Not a chance.” 

“Only he’s been late to practices looking like he just had sex. And that hoodie, have you seen that hoodie?” 

“What the Harvard Medical one? That doesn’t mean anything.” 

“You are so naïve.”

* * *

Jim really didn’t understand the challenge of dating a med student. He liked the autonomy of it because they both had other commitments to keep them occupied. Best yet the weeknights when their schedules matched became worth a lot more than the 15-minute bike ride across the river and the potential tiredness the day following.  
  
Still, after a night across the river followed by practice and class, all Jim wanted to do was nap. He did not want to hear Janice calling his name as he came off the staircase, but he wasn’t about to be rude.   
  
“What can I do for you, Janice?”   
  
She smiled at him, all disarmingly with her offer of Israeli couscous and chicken. “How’s the mystery chick across the river?”   
  
His stomach really wanted the food that was quite literally on the table in front of him, but there was a high price to pay. Things with Bones were good, better even as long as he didn’t have to tell anyone else here about him. Maybe it was cowardice, but some part of his brain labeled it as not wanting to share Bones with anyone else, which sounded better.   
  
So, Jim just smiled at her and kept walking to his room. Let her assume what she would. His smile and the now infamous Harvard Medical hoodie he was wearing today said all he was going to say. 

* * *

> **Bones:**  Dinner my place tonight. Last I’ll probably see you before exams. No excuses.   
>  _8:04 a.m. Oct 1_

* * *

Jim really needed to learn to be cautious of all people bearing food. He also needed to learn how to knock rather than simply walk into a room, saying the first thing that came to mind, which at this particular moment was: “Bones, you know if you’re going to be all tied up with exams, we should just forego dinner all together.”   
  
It wasn’t until his shoes were off that he realized that there were other people in the apartment besides Bones and Geoffrey. Admittedly, he didn’t exactly want Geoffrey to overhear that sort of thing, but he could live with that. What he couldn’t deal with was five strangers staring at him and not all of them polite enough to hide the need to laugh.   
  
Len was quick on his feet to stop Jim from fleeing. He threw an arm over Jim’s shoulders, trying to comfort without words, but Jim had plenty he needed to say. “What the hell?” Maybe it was rude, but at that moment he felt too exposed to care.  
  
“I forgot it was my turn to host the potluck. They’re good people, Jim. You just gotta give them a chance.” Jim glared at Bones as he was manhandled over to the sitting area.  
  
“Everyone, this is Jim,” he said joining Jim on the sofa. “Jim this is Elizabeth, Brian, Grace, Henry, and Jang.”   
  
“Len, you failed to mention that your boyfriend is hot,” said Elizabeth as she stood up to refill her glass. Jim might have been smug about Bones’s reaction to the word boyfriend if he wasn’t cringing himself. It was going to take a lot more than morning sex to fix this one. “So how did you two meet?”  
  
Jim didn’t want to talk about this and nudging Bones was the best way he had to convey that message. Only Bones took it as a cue to answer. “We met two summers ago at the camp where we worked. Jim had the mattress next to mine during orientation. I knew he’d be trouble from the second I saw him.”   
  
Now, not only was he angry with Bones for putting him in this situation, but kind of jealous for his ease over this. It just wasn't fair. Jim was too busy plotting revenge that he missed when the questions were once more turned towards him.   
  
“What do you do, Jim?”   
  
“I’m in course 16,” he said automatically, forgetting that outside of the MIT campus people don’t speak in numbers, so he had to clarify. “Aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.”   
  
“You angling to be the other sort of doctor?”   
  
It was only then, with the reassuring weight of Bones’s hand resting firmly on his knee and the reality that they weren’t about to burn him at the stake, Jim smiled. “Nah, I’ll just settle for astronaut.”   
  
After that things got better. Jim still wasn’t fully comfortable with the fact that a whole group of people knew he was in a relationship with a man, but they didn’t seem bothered by it so he was trying to follow suit. These were Bones’s friends and if they were worthy of his friendship, they had to be good people.   
  
Jim watched as everyone left in ones or twos off to do whatever they would for the rest of the night. It had been a sort of last supper with a strict no talking about school as a chance to unwind before exams started and Jim was grateful for that. Not that talking medical stuff wasn’t thrilling, he just was glad to get to know them as people rather than the doctors they were aspiring to be. By the time Jim was changing for bed he had all but forgotten that he had been angry with Bones earlier.   
  
“Your friends are something else, Bones.”   
  
“They’re good people.” Len said echoing his earlier comment. He crawled into his bed and held up the covers for Jim to join him. After a big meal and some enthusiastic sex, the main thing on his mind right then was a solid night’s sleep. He assumed the same was true for Jim who got real quiet as he burrowed into just the right spot.   
  
Len was nearly asleep when Jim spoke again. “You know, all of my friends at MIT think you’re this epically hot chick.”   
  
“Excuse me?” Len shifted, nudging Jim from his favorite spot.   
  
Jim just shrugged, trying to find a new position to be comfortable in. While Len was a little more awake now, Jim was still half way to sleep. “It’s not exactly their business who I’m sleeping with.”   
  
“So, they don’t know you’re gay?” Len’s voice was calm, but Jim didn’t miss the concern there and maybe just a bit of accusation.   
  
“Be more Warhol, please. I’m not gay.”   
  
Len watched Jim, the pieces suddenly falling into place as to why Jim had seemed off this evening. For as open as Jim was at camp about who he was, in the real world he played things a bit closer, likely afraid that the wrong move would turn people against him. “Well, you’re sure as hell not straight.”   
  
Jim turned into him, pushing Bones back into his place, hoping to get comfortable again and stop all of this ridiculous conversation. “Don’t you know by now? I defy all labels, I’m Jim Kirk.” And that pulled a much-needed laugh from the both of them.   
  
“I’ll remember that next time someone asks what I am. I’ll tell them, not heterosexual, not gay, just Kirkian.”   
  
Jim’s smile grew and he leaned up to kiss Bones. Although Bones saw it for what it was – a means to change the topic and he wasn’t finished with this one. “I still think you should tell them.”   
  
“They’ll figure it out.” Len knew that Jim was dodging the issue at hand. The kid had abandonment issues the length of the Appalachian Mountains, but that wasn’t a battle he wanted to fight tonight.

* * *

> **Jim Kirk:**  You’re coming to the Head of the Charles right?   
>  _6:47 a.m. Oct 6_  
> 
> **Bones:**  I am planning on it. You still want me there?   
>  _7:12 a.m. Oct 6_  
> 
> **Jim Kirk:**  Of course. I’ll scout you a good spot.   
>  _7:14 a.m. Oct 6_  

* * *

Exams always made Len grumpy. The distinct lack of Jim in his life over the past week made the exam grumpiness worse. Although it was tempered by the fact that Len wasn’t just being a horrible person shutting Jim out because was busy too. Jim was likely just as stressed with the first big race of the season and the need to prove himself. It was strange to see that in the real world Captain Sunshine could be stopped and often by nothing more than his self-doubt. Len didn’t think he could magically make everything better for Jim, but he hoped that he did more good than bad.   
  
For all his grievances against New England, the belief that Columbus Day was a holiday worth canceling classes was one thing Len was grateful for. With no classes or labs to worry about, after his pool work out Len went across the river to surprise Jim. Despite only being there once before, it wasn’t that difficult to find building W61, MacGregor House.   
  
“Hey,” he said grabbing the attention of a half-asleep student on his way out. “Do you know where Jim Kirk’s room is?”   
  
The man tried to look at him, still too early for his brain to fully process anything, but the name Jim Kirk seemed to get some recognition. “Yeah, up six floors, last door in the hallway with the kitchen.”  
  
With a muttered ‘thanks’ Len headed for the stairwell and raced up six flights of stairs. He probably looked like a god damned fool, but he didn’t really care. Although some of the looks he received were difficult to ignore. In hindsight maybe it would have been better to not wear a Harvard Medical hoodie to sneak onto the MIT campus.   
  
Len must have gotten turned around because the end of the hall didn’t bring him to Jim’s room. Instead it brought him face to face with an attractive blonde woman with an elaborated braided hairstyle looking like she was on her way to the gym.   
  
“I’m sorry. I thought this was Jim’s room.” She looked at him a moment, taking in his whole person. The Harvard imprint on his shirt made her eyes go wide. When she didn’t say anything Len rolled his eyes and continued. “You know, Jim Kirk, he’s supposed to live on this floor.”   
  
Her face broke into a devious smile and he wasn’t sure just what he was getting himself into, but the woman started speaking, so he didn’t mind too much. “He’s the hall over, probably just back from the river.”   
  
Crossing over the entry, Jim found him first.   
  
“Bones!” He shouted, his shower caddy jostling with the surprise – but not necessarily a good one. “What are you doing here?” Jim was still wet from the shower, dressed in only a towel.  
  
“I thought I would come by and see what this MIT thing is all about,” he said unsure why he needed to explain himself. He allowed Jim to pull him into his room. It should have been a fantastic sort of moment, seeing the cell that was Jim Kirk’s personal space – lofted bed, laptop open on his desk, books and clothes everywhere. Only it wasn’t fantastic at all. It just felt wrong.   
  
Once closed the door was closed Jim turned to face him. “You can’t just come over without telling a guy first.”   
  
Len was sure that Jim meant it as a joke, but he heard the bite to those words like Len showing up was some great offense. “Right, because you always let me know when you’re coming over.”   
  
“That’s different. You live in an apartment,” said Jim much too quickly.  
  
Len chuckled, but it didn’t do a damn thing to push off the feeling of anger that was already there. Leonard McCoy had always been okay with who he was and he tried to respect the feelings of other people, but there came a point when enough was enough. His words were just as acidic as the feeling in his stomach when they came. “And Geoffrey doesn’t think I’m fucking some chick who goes to MIT.”   
  
Jim paused; looking at him like the Christmas present he begged and pleaded for went to his older brother who was not going share. “It’s not like that,” his voice wavered between unsure and upset, not quite able to reach angry.   
  
“Then what’s it like, Jim?” Len was already on a path of righteous anger. There was no turning back now. Not even noticing the absurdity of having this fight with Jim dressed in no more than a towel would stop him.   
  
“I…” Jim started then stopped again, “these people don’t know me like your friends know you.”   
  
Len closed his eyes not wanting to look at Jim. The kid was lost, he knew that, but that didn’t mean it was right. “What does that mean, Jim?” Now it was his turn to sound a bit desperate and for Len desperation quickly turned into a game of ‘I can hurt you more than you can hurt me.’ “Are you embarrassed by me? Have I ruined your chance to fuck the next hot co-ed who bats her eyes at you?”   
  
“You know that since you moved up here…” Only Len didn’t give him the space to explain because he knew exactly what game he was playing at. Jim Kirk was someone who was always left behind. Camp Enterprise was the first place he felt like people would love him no matter how badly he fucked up (and according to Jim, he had fucked up a lot). Jim was always so desperate for people to accept him, possibly even love him, he would do anything.   
  
“You’re scared, you’re actually scared. It could be endearing if it weren’t so god damn pathetic.” Len tossed the brown bag with breakfast in it on the desk. “Look, bottom line is that you’re in a relationship with me whether we’re at camp or in Boston. We both have penises and that sure as hell doesn’t matter to you or me.”  
  
“You don’t get it…”   
  
“No, Jim, you don’t get it.” He wasn’t looking to start dry humping him in public, but he didn’t want to have to lie about any part of who he was. For all that he loved Jim, he wouldn’t do that for him. “If they can’t deal with knowing you, all of you, then fuck them. You shouldn’t have to hide this, hide us as if I’m some dirty little secret. Half of the camp staff knew in detail! Why is it any different here?” He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the younger man.   
  
Maybe they could have been reasonable, but they were both still young men posturing at being grown ups. The only thing left was Jim’s succinct and final response. “No, fuck you, Leonard,” he said his name like it was the real swear word, “I don’t need this. So, get the fuck out.” 

* * *

After Len’s surprise visit Jim wasn’t sure how things could get any worse. Except that they did. He forgot his pset for 18.03, Differential Equations, was sure that he bombed a quiz too, and then to add insult to injury he came back to the entry to find that he didn’t have any food. Short of running over to the grocery store he was going to have to charm Janice Rand into eating her food. Normally, it wasn’t much of a challenge, but lately everything just felt more difficult.   
  
“Hey Janice.” He said finding her in the entry lounge, the television on some random hospital drama that Jim was trying not look at. “What do you say that I offer up my rice and amazing cooking skills in exchange for your chicken and vegetables?”   
  
She turned around to look at him, matching his smile because after living with him for almost a year and a half now she liked to think she knew him. “Jim Kirk, are you trying to seduce me?”  
  
He laughed, the sound not quite right, but for all Janice thought she knew him, she really didn’t and he was okay with that. “Nah, I just want you for your produce.”  
  
“Well, knock yourself out.” She said dismissing him as her attention shifted back to the television where some big medical emergency was unfolding. And that was cue for Jim to go to the kitchen. Jim didn’t want to cook, but he did want to eat. He also needed something to distract him for a little while – not that this was enough, but it was a place to start.   
  
It didn’t take nearly as long as he would have liked to prepare dinner. But Janice was waiting for him. ( _Beware of women baring food._ ) With the television off there was no avoiding a conversation before he could take his plate and duck back into his room.  
  
“So Jim, who was our visitor the other day? You know, the one with the Harvard hoodie?”   
  
Given the topic of their previous conversations he wasn’t surprised by her question. The whole entry, if not the building, preoccupied themselves with the Harvard Medical hoodie corollary. If anything he was surprised she took this long to ask, but then again he had been quite good at evading.   
  
Still, he didn't like the way she said 'Harvard hoodie.' Not that he was going to tell her that. It would only make things worse.  
  
“Leonard McCoy,” he said without pause or deviation. “He’s at the medical school.”  
  
Janice took the dish from him and placed it on the table. Based on the somewhat distracted expression on her face, she probably missed the strain in his voice. “Doctor Leonard McCoy, that has a sort of ring to it.”  
  
Jim shrugged, really not wanting to talk about Bones. “It’s a name.”   
  
“I would love for you to properly introduce us. I mean it’s about time I get my own hot med student across the river. We could even go on double dates!”  
  
He snorted at that. Even with his own uncertainty as to where things were with Bones, Jim doubted he would ever suffer through a double date. Although it might be amusing to see Bones's double date be him on two dates at once. The amusement was fleeting as it quickly became jealous with just a pinch of anger.  
  
“Well, good luck with that.”   
  
Jim took his plate and went back to his room with the far too complicated revelation that other people found Bones hot. Well, that wasn’t exactly new. Bones was hot. The problem was that Bones was hot and upset with Jim, and Janice Rand was not only persistent, but also a lot easier to be with than he was. Stabbing at his chicken more than eating it he thought more on that and didn't like the any of the conclusions he came to. 

* * *

Status update: Jim Kirk thinks that Charles River = Berlin Wall.

* * *

Lectures back in full force didn’t distract Len from the Jim Issue. If anything trying to fall back into the routine hurt more. It was evident in the little things like pulling out his phone to text Jim in between classes only to stop halfway through. The more space those unsent messages took up on his phone, the worse he acted. He snapped at Elizabeth during study group, and more than once tried to prove he knew more about medicine than his professor, which didn’t go over well for anyone in the class.   
  
All that was tame compared to Hurricane Leonard hitting landfall Friday after his lab let out. Knowing better his friends had canceled or rescheduled their plans, leaving Geoffrey alone to wait out the storm. With notes and classes to review, things were calm up until Len beat Geoffrey to the door for the pizza delivery.   
  
While most times Leonard was a great roommate, it was moments like these when Geoffrey was reminded how miserable of a person he could be given the right incentive. “You keep bitching out the delivery guys and they will blacklist our apartment,” he said as Len walked back into the apartment with the food.  
  
“Yeah, well maybe they shouldn’t be so damn chatty.” Len set down the pizza on the table. “Now, are you going to eat or just provide commentary?”  
  
Geoffrey sighed. He had to live with the man. He might not have to like him, certainly not right now, but he really didn’t want to become a target. “I’ll get the dishes.”   
  
He returned with the dishes and the two lapsed into what might have been a companionable silence if not for Len’s muttering. Tossing his half-eaten slice on the plate, Geoffrey decided that enough was enough.   
  
“Whatever the shit with Jim that is making you more of a bastard than normal, you need to fix it.”  
  
“Why do you assume I have any shit with Jim?” Len’s weak dismissive response earned him quite the look from Geoffrey, which soon progressed into an impressive staring contest.   
  
“I don’t care, Len.” He threw his hands up and stood. “Just fix it.”  
  
Len sunk into the sofa as Geoffrey pulled out his phone, making plans to find a way out of the black hole he had turned their apartment into. Even if he did want to fix things with Jim, and most days he did, Len wasn’t sure where to begin. 

* * *

 Facebook update: Leonard McCoy and Janice Rand are now friends.

* * *

Jim should have been studying and not staring his Facebook newsfeed.   
  
He didn’t like it one bit, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about. It wasn't like he cared before who Bones was Facebook friends with. Only before he didn't have Bones's angry words eating away at him. And now Bones was Facebook friends with Janice Rand.   
  
Well, good, the two deserved each other with their unassuming, but dangerous offers of food.   
  
Just as he was about to lose the staring contest with the webpage a new window popped up on his screen. Sighing he sat up a little straighter in his chair and he scrolled over to accept the video call from 'christopher.pike.'   
  
And Jim Kirk did what he did best. He put on a brave face and pretended like the world continued to orbit around him. “Shouldn’t old men like you be in bed by now?”  
  
Gopher laughed, but Jim was sure that was more for him than anyone else. “You do realize I’m three hours behind you?” Gopher appeared to be sitting in his office, sun still streaming in through the curtains. Looking at the time, it was probably Number One’s turn to make dinner, which afforded Gopher a few minutes to chat.   
  
“So are you calling the future or am I talking to the past?” He tried to keep it light and he thought he was doing a decent job of it until he saw it. It was subtle as Gopher’s smile morphed into something else.   
  
“What did you do?” Biologically Gopher might not have been his father, but when it came to Jim's family biologically didn't really have a whole lot to do with anything.   
  
“Why do you assume I did something?”  
  
“You’re Jim Kirk, you’re always doing something.” Jim might have snorted if Gopher wasn’t right. The man knew him as if he had raised him from birth, when truly Christopher Pike had only prominently came into his life when he was eight and finally old enough to be shipped away to camp for the summer. But just because Gopher knew didn’t mean that Jim was going to just tell him everything. This was his life and he didn’t need some great Gopher wisdom to fix it.   
  
“I don’t have all day here, Jim.” There was just something in his tone, an unspoken level of understanding and an unconditional love that he didn't know he needed to hear until he did.   
  
“Bones and I are fighting.” It made Jim wish they weren’t currently living on different coasts.   
  
“About?”  
  
Jim paused a moment, looking at Gopher’s image on his screen. “A Harvard medical hoodie.” It even sounded worse out loud than it did in his head. The corollary might be a joke to the student body, but it just felt pathetic and stupid right now.  
  
“What?”  
  
“They don’t know, my floormates don’t know about…and he ambushed me.” The best thing with Gopher was that even if Jim couldn’t find the words to explain everything he knew how to fill in the pieces. Jim had grown up over his summers at Camp Enterprise and Gopher had been there every step along the way. He knew who Jim Kirk was, cracks and all. Jim didn’t need to explain himself like he sometimes did with Bones because Bones hadn’t seen the process just the near finished product. “Then he got mad that all of my MIT friends think he’s a woman.”  
  
Even through a digital connection, those kinetic messages still passed from one man to another. After a full minute Gopher only had one question he needed to ask: “Do you love him?”  
  
Jim knew the answer was yes. He had told Bones that a few times but only in the safety of Bones’s bed because the world was better from that vantage point. (He kind of wished he were there now.) And Gopher already knew the answer too, which meant the point in asking wasn’t for Jim to answer.   
  
“Then you know he’s right, on some level.” Jim wanted to protested, but waited for Gopher to finish. “It really shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”  
  
“Easy for you to say,” said Jim sounding far too dejected. For as sure as he seemed about everything, certainly about wanting Bones, his sexuality wasn’t something he understood how to deal with. “And nothing about this is easy.”  
  
“Maybe, but nothing worth having ever is.”  
  
“Thanks for the fortune cookie.” On the other end of the line Jim could hear Number One letting Chris know that dinner was ready. He wanted to ask how Gopher did it, how he knew that she was the one for him, but even as the question formed he knew he didn’t need Gopher’s answer. Not that he had his own, but he suspected that there was no clear way to simply know whether it was real love or just some fleeting sort of feeling. Besides he was twenty years old. He really didn’t want to contemplate any sort of forever right now.  
  
“I have to run, Jim, but good luck with your race next weekend. You know I’d be there if I could.”  
  
Jim closed out the application and sat there staring at the screen again. He might not want any sort of forever, but he did want Bones. And maybe, just maybe, he also wanted to be able to be himself, and not have to lose anything in the process.  
  
There was also the very big possibility that he might have really messed things up with Bones when he kicked him out. What if Bones was already on to the next person? And that thought hurt more than he would have liked, which left him with only one solution. Jim Kirk was going to get Leonard McCoy back no matter what it took.   
  
Then his phone went off.

> _**Kevin:**  Team meeting in 40, I can come by with food and we’ll head down together?_

Well, he was going to get him back right after he won the Head of the Charles. 

* * *

> Len,   
>  You better be out on that river today or I won’t let you hear the end of it ever. Jim’s an idiot sometimes, but he’s your idiot.   
>  \- Christine

* * *

Len was starting to hate fall in New England. It was all biting wind and gloomy skies that didn’t do a thing to help the feeling that this was a very bad idea.   
  
The masses were out in full force all along the Charles and he was glad he arrived early to the Elliot Bridge with study materials to help time pass until Jim’s heats. Even if they weren’t talking, he had promised Jim he would be here. For all that he knew about biology and chemistry or even Jim for that matter, Len didn’t know a damn thing about crew other than it was something Jim enjoyed, so the rest of the races didn’t matter.   
  
Although he had made the conscious decision to wear his Ole Miss hoodie, when his alarm went off telling him Jim’s heat started some three miles upriver, he almost wished he threw caution to the wind and wore an MIT shirt. (And why so much of his life was wrapped around what shirt he was wearing was just beyond him.)   
  
“Damn it,” it wasn’t so much a greeting, but it got the attention of man standing next to him. “Do you know the time on the MIT boat?” Expectedly the man gave him a glare worthy of what he usually doled out liberally. Len looked down the river trying to make out what was happening at the take out, but with the crowd and the angle from the bridge he couldn’t tell a damn thing. Hastily he threw all of his stuff into his backpack and jogged off the bridge, not caring that he was giving up a prime location.   
  
It was the opinion of Leonard McCoy that the Head of the Charles would be better if you could tell who won by who crossed the finish line first. He could do without the crowds too. Having to push through all of those people to get to where he needed to be was not something he enjoyed, but it was worth it to see the look on Jim’s face and be able to let Jim know he was proud of him. That was all he needed.   
  
What happened was just a little different.   
  
The eight men on Jim’s boat were fireworks exploding right on the bank of the Charles. Although there were still two boats out on the river, with their splits the teams still to finish wouldn't beat them.   
  
Jim slapped Kevin hard on the back. “See! For all the shit you gave me, I came through.”   
  
Kevin just laughed slapping Jim back just as hard and Len couldn’t help but join in with the sheer joy of the moment. He would be a fool to think that Jim heard his laughter over all of the noise, but the moment it escaped his lips Jim whipped his head around to look right at him. And he definitely saw Jim’s smile widen.   
  
Then it was Jim pushing through the people to get to Bones.   
  
It was like a goddamn movie right then. If only Jim weren’t so sweaty and a little less smelly, but none of it really mattered as Jim pulled him into a big hug. Then their lips like magnets moved until they found what they were looking for. The kiss was messy, eager, and initiated too quickly for anyone to consider the consequences. And the world just kept on going like it always did as their lips slowed from that fast burning fire to just a crackling ember.   
  
Len pulled away first, not breaking eye contact. That look said everything racing through his head. His eyebrow quirked just a little and then Jim laughed. It was a different sort of laughter than what he overheard just a few minutes ago. (And he knew it was just for him.)  
  
“Fuck them, Bones.” Jim squeezed Len’s shoulders, far too amused when that eyebrow just went higher. “We were fighting and you still came.”   
  
That earned him a swat from Len as he shook free of Jim’s grasp. Without needing to say it, Len knew that they were going to be okay.   
  
“Just so you know, this means you totally have to agree to a lame couples costume for Halloween.”   
  
Yeah, Christine was right. Jim was his idiot.   
  
“No way in hell, kid.” Just to assure himself Len leaned forward to kiss Jim again. He was immediately relieved when Jim met him halfway. This time they started chaste with Jim just about to flip it into something more when he heard an unnecessarily loud cough to his left.   
  
Jim pulled back to look over and did a double take, his jaw dropping. “Mom?” Len followed that gaze to see the woman with graying hair pulled carefully back dressed in a standard US Air Force uniform and he swallowed hard. Even with all of the talk of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Len couldn’t imagine this being a particularly good moment between mother and son. Len was sure he was dead on arrival. And yet Jim didn’t let go. 

* * *

Facebook update: Jim Kirk is now in a relationship with Leonard McCoy.


End file.
